Pages

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Happy Halloween!

The Sourcebooks authors share their favorite Halloween traditions and memories.

Shana Galen
This year we planned to dress up our new dog Sparky, but she ended up having surgery a few weeks ago, so we'll have to wait until next year. Here are a few cute dog costumes I found for 2016.

Dog Vader

Too perfect!

Can't stop laughing at this one!

Do you dress up your pets? I bet Terry does!

Terry Spear
This is the first year that my puppies have been with me for Halloween. They're Havanese, and I I wasn't sure they would stand for it. Every year, I try to get together with my daughter and SIL for Halloween. Their corgi was dressed in a shark costume. We make fun treats and watch Halloween kind of movies, and this year, all of the dogs will be dressed for the fun. She has another corgi. Now, getting them all to sit for pictures is another story!

Max is worn out after all that costume business. Tanner was posing for the camera like a good little pirate!

The hat was just wearing Max down, or, he just would prefer being something else, like a wolf!

Here is Rilo, my daughter's corgi, dressed as a shark.
But Halloween wouldn't be fun without some treats! These are actual photos I took of the treats we made.

The mummy dogs are crescent rolls sliced into mummy rags and wrapped around hot dogs with two red ketchup eyes. The spider eggs are black olives cut up into legs and a half an olive body, then placed on top of a deviled egg. The Vampire wine and chocolate a friend received at an author party and sent to me, which makes for the perfect Halloween finale! My daughter said she's making zombie fingers, sounds gruesome, but I'll show them off next year!

Do you do anything special for Halloween? How about a movie marathon?

Brooklyn Ann's Halloween Movie Recommendations:

I love horror movies year round, but I go into binge-watch mode for October. To keep this short, I'll only recommend 10, but ideally, I'd list over 100. :D

The first 5 are fun for the whole family (though 1 or 2 would be better with older kids)

1.) The Witches

Based on the book by Roald Dahl, this was a fun and slightly spooky adventure.

2.) The Addams Family:

As a romance author, I think Gomez and Morticia are sooo romantic! But yeah, this one's funny and delightfully macabre.

3.) Monster Squad:

I only saw this for the first time a few days ago and fell in love. It's like a horror version of the Goonies. However I would only watch this with older kids because there is some profanity.

This is the epitome of 80's cheeseball horror. I adore it probably more than I should.

2.) Rose Red:

This is the ULTIMATE haunted house movie, in my opinion. Also, they filmed some of the movie in a real castle in Seattle.

3.) Nightmare on Elm Street:

One....Two... Freddy's coming for you....

Seriously, you can't go without the classics.

4.) Cabin in the Woods

A horror movie that both mocks and pays homage to horror movies. It also has the most unique twist I've ever seen.

5.) Fright Night

This list isn't complete without a vampire movie, and this one's a lot of fun. And honestly, aside from a brief scene with female nudity, this one's pretty much okay for older kids. I just made mine go grab more popcorn during that part, lol.

For more recommendations, I'm putting together a Pinterest Board. What are some of your favorite horror/ Halloween movies?

Jane Ashford
I'm in London for a while, and I was a little surprised to find that they go all out on Halloween over here. You can even hire a "posh" costume from the National Theatre. "Any member of the public can can make an appointment at the National
Theatre's costume warehouse, whether they're looking for a specific item
or a whole ensemble. Rails are arranged chronologically from dramatic
eighteenth-century ball gowns to 1920s flapper dresses for women, and
from top hats and tails to Elizabethan ruffs and doublets for men.
Enthusiastic staff are on hand to help you build a top-to-toe look." Tempting!

Gina ConkleThat sounds like fun, Jane! Last year we turned over a new leaf and moved to the midwest, so Fall and Halloween have changed for us (sorry! I couldn't resist the pun!). We live in a small-ish town and the tree colors dazzle me after being a lifelong San Diegan. Seriously, I embarrass my younger son, Chad, snapping photos of trees. I even took a video of one particular road with an amazing array of colors. Maybe I'll make a new video next year and share that! (Just kidding).

The other thing I like is how the town gets into the holidays. For Halloween, businesses and municipal departments create unique "scarecrows" and post them around town. Here's one of my favorites this year --- the Tin Man.

Someone's got skills! Whatever you're doing, wherever you are, I hope you and your family are safe and have lots of fun. ~Gina